Hello Eagle Friends,
Today was gorgeous. The air temperature was 52 degrees when I arrived and 72 degrees when I left the valley. It mostly sunny with a light wind. We are supposed to have rain and thunderstorms the rest of the week. Of course, this is Minnesota, and weather changes quickly, or so it seems.
I found no activity on nest 7 or 8.
As I moved along my outdoor beat I found two enormous turkey vultures trying to pull meat off a carcass. They are the ugliest birds I have ever seen and I don't even want to know why they were made with that particular look.
I hiked out to nest 1 and found the nest without an eagle. There was a thick smoke in the air, which made it even more difficult for me to breathe while trying to find this chest cold. Then out of the smoke Daedee suddenly appeared and she came in and landed on her nest. Both eaglets jumped up to meet her.
In the shot above she is watching the smoke in the near distance, as her twins look too. The eaglets were beak fighting most of the morning. Dancer came in around noon but without any food. He perched in the Look Out tree and kept his eyes on the smoke, too.
Daedee began feeding the eaglets stacked food that was already on the nest. The eaglets ate all she offered. As I was shooting pictures of Daedee feeding the eaglets, a nuthatch landed in front of her on the nest tree, trying to take a bite food. She watched the little bird, almost impressed with her bravery.
As I drove towards nest 6, I stopped to watch a caterpillar creating a new path in my old 580 day marsh project. The 2007 summer flood destroyed the dike, and all of the upper sand prairie. I guess it is a good thing I stopped there a couple weeks ago and took the pictures of how it was after the flood and winter. Now it's an entirely different landscape again.
I think they should call that piece of land, God's practice canvas. For that is what it has become a place he draws out and sends floods to wash it off, then man to rebuild it.
I moved on to nest 6, and found Linda up on the nest. The first goose mound nest may have hatched. The mother goose had her wings spread out away from her body. I think that may be a sign we have goslings that hatched.
I found the nest box 5 geese with their multiples. I couldn't even count all them as they moved so fast, but there were at least six, possibly eight.
As I was setting up my shot for nest 5 I noticed two big eaglets up on the nest. They are 30 and 28 days old. The mom was above sitting on her perch over the nest. So we have at least nine eaglets this year, but I still have nest 3 and 4 to confirm solo or twin eaglets.
Both nest 3 and 4 were feeding their young when I arrived. The goose on her box, I call her the controlled burn goose, she's been on 22 days now, at least. I expect her little ones will be hatching soon. Such a place though. Full of big snappers, and eagles.
As I headed back I found the two six-packs of goslings on the first marsh. I was watching the father showing the little ones how to bath, and he would dip under the water and come up splashing, and he repeated this several times. Finally, the one little goose, tried imitating him but flipped in the water and sprung water up all over. I enjoyed watching his comical expression.
It was a perfect Minnesota spring day.
I'm looking forward to day 119.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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